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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Death denial: obstacle or instrument for palliative care?
— an analysis of clinical literature | | Author(s) | Camilla Zimmermann |
| Journal title | Sociology of Health & Illness, vol 29, no 2, March 2007 |
| Pages | pp 297-314 |
| Source | http://www.blackwellpublishing.com |
| Keywords | Death ; Dying ; Attitude ; Pain ; Terminal care ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | As a society and as individuals, we have come to recognise ourselves as 'death-denying', a self-characterisation particularly prominent in palliative care discourse and practice. As part of a larger project examining death attitudes in the palliative care setting, a Medline search (1071 to 2001) was performed combining the text words 'deny' and denial' with the subject headings 'terminal care', 'palliative care' and 'hospice care'. The 30 articles were analysed using a constant comparison technique, and emerging themes regarding the meaning and usage of the words deny and denial were identified. This paper examines the theme of denial as an obstacle in palliative care. In the articles, denial was described as an impediment to open discussion of dying, dying at home, stopping 'futile' treatments, advance care planning, and control of symptoms. The author suggests that these components of care together constitute what has come to be perceived as a correct 'way to die'. Indeed, the very conceptualisation of denial is an obstacle to these components of care has been integral to building and sustaining the 'way to die' itself. The personal struggle with mortality has become an important instrument in the public problem of managing the dying process. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070510224 A |
| Classmark | CW: CX: DP: CT7: LV: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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